Chapter 4 - Stormy Refuge
I slowly limped into town without creating much of a stir. Concealed from view under my borrowed cloak, the ponies in town barely spared me a glance. They were focusing on preparing for the upcoming storm. I drifted in the direction of the town square trying to figure out a where I should go. With no bits on hoof, there wasn’t really anything to do but find a sheltered nook somewhere.
Eventually, I walked up into the park at the center of town. There were a number of ponies working hard to pull the loose branches off the trees in preparation for the storm. Two familiar ponies were among the workers. Rarity and the orange earth pony mare whose name I hadn’t heard were pulling down branches. I watched for a bit, admiring her skill as she used her lasso to hook the branches and pull them down.
Meanwhile, Rarity seemed to be fussing around, reattaching branches. Her horn glowed and the leaves on one branch transformed into some fancy topiary. It was an impressive spell but the lasso-wielding pony was quick to rope the branch she was fussing with and yanked it down easily.
The orange pony spat out her rope. “Just take the broken limbs down, Rarity. Don't y'all care about nothin' other than prettifyin'?”
“Somepony has to,” Rarity said disdainfully. “You were making an absolute mess of the town square, Applejack.”
“Yeah, well, the storm's gonna make an even bigger mess if we don't prune all these loose branches so they don't tumble down on anypony.”
“I simply cannot imagine why the Pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day.”
Applejack was clearly annoyed. “Think more practical like, will ya? They accidentally skipped a scheduled sprinkle last week, so we need a doozy of a downpour to make up for it, is all.”
I felt the first drops of rain hit my head and turned to leave the park. I had wasted too much time with my slow walk and even more watching Rarity and Applejack. I didn't have the energy to move any faster.
“Ya’ll better hurry up and get home there!” Applejack called after me. “Take care.”
I turned and waved my hoof politely at Applejack. I thought I saw her eyes widen briefly with recognition when she saw my hoof but moments later she was distracted by Rarity. They were arguing about something but I didn’t have time to stand around and listen. I left the arguing mares behind and limped my way towards the main part of town. The rainstorm wasn't going to wait for me to be under cover.
The rain was pelting down and the wind was becoming more vicious when I turned into a random alleyway to look for any sort of shelter. This alley wasn’t straight and had several small nooks that would be good if they were clear of garbage. Finally, I found the perfect place to take shelter. It was an old wooden crate sitting open on its side with the lid set up to hide the spot. Inside there were several blankets inside and a waterproof pair of saddlebags with school books inside. It was clear somepony else was staying here but I had nowhere else to go so I carefully pushed the blankets aside to keep them dry and slipped under the cover.
A short time later, I heard the sound of wheels rolling down the alley. An orange Pegasus filly with purple hair and zipped into view, pushing a scooter with her wings while towing a wagon. She stopped in front of the crate and grabbed a bag out of the wagon. When she turned around to enter the shelter, our eyes met. She stared at me with blank confusion for a moment before anger took over as the rain dripped off her face and wings.
She flared her wings aggressively. “What are you doing here? This is my place.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t have anywhere else to go tonight. Could I please stay here?” I pleaded. “I’ll leave as soon as the rain stops. I promise.”
“ . . . Ok, but I'll hold you to that,” she said sternly although she looked somewhat stunned that an adult was asking her permission.
She slipped the bag into the back corner of the crate and curled up on the blankets I had moved. In spite of the shelter provided by the box, she was shivering from the cold and wet.
I lifted up my cloak with one hoof. “This cloak seems to be pretty wind and water proof. Want to get under here to stay warm and dry off?”
She only hesitated for a brief moment before crawling under my cloak. She flinched briefly when she felt the bandages and patches of bare skin but she quickly relaxed. We nestled close together to try and stay warm while the rainfall became even more intense. The wind quickly picked up but our shelter was adequate. It actually became somewhat cozy with the two of us warming the space under Zecora’s cloak.
I looked down at the filly snuggled in next to me. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Scootaloo. Who are you?”
“Jade Storm,” I replied quietly.
“Why are you out here Mister Storm?”
“Just call me Jade, Scootaloo,” I replied. “I’m out here because some ponies I trusted decided to get me in trouble for something I didn’t do. Thanks to them, I have nothing except this cloak which doesn't even belong to me and nowhere to go.”
We both jumped as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed instantly by a clap of thunder. I felt my heart start racing and I jumped even more violently when the second bolt of lightning blinded me. I felt like I was paralyzed for a moment and I couldn’t even force myself to move. I took several deep breaths, but there was a pain in my heart knowing what was wrong. I was afraid of lightning now, the force of nature I once manipulated with ease was now frightening me worse than the young filly beside me. Every flash of light brought back the memories of the attack used by Nightmare Moon to destroy me.
Scootaloo’s voice distracted me from my fears. “What about your family, Jade? Won’t they help you?”
I sighed, trying to figure out how to explain my family situation to this young filly. “Yes and no. My brother did pay my hospital bills but that's all he could do. I had to refuse any other help since he’s in a tough spot thanks to the monster he called father. That stallion passed away but his legacy lives on. How about you Scootaloo, why are you out here?”
I felt her wings quiver next to me but her voice was clearly trying to be tough. “I was abandoned at an orphanage far from here when I was a tiny filly. The ponies who were my caretakers were awful so I ran away as soon as I could. I decided to stay here in Ponyville when I saw Rainbow Dash fly for the first time. She’s an awesome flyer and I never get tired of seeing her. I want to talk to ask her to teach me to fly but she hasn’t noticed me. I can’t seem to figure out what I’m doing wrong and younger ponies are already flying. Maybe once I've got my cutie mark . . .”
She trailed off with a wistful sigh. I looked out at the storm, considering her situation. This was where I would be if it hadn't been for Blue. “You’re still young Scootaloo. Not everypony learns to fly immediately or instinctively. I was much older than you before I figured out how to fly. Sadly, there's nothing I can do to help you learn now.”
“Why can’t you teach me?” Her voice was curious, not demanding so I felt I could give her an answer.
“I’m completely crippled,” I whispered, trying to hold my tears in. “I can’t even move my wings, they'd just flop on the ground which is why they’re bandaged in place. I don’t even have enough Pegasus magic to touch clouds anymore, let alone feel the air currents or get off the ground. Pegasus flight isn't all in the wings although they're important. Our ability to feel and manipulate the air around us is the real key. Without magic, I wouldn't even be able to tell what you were doing wrong.”
She gave me a friendly nuzzle which I accepted gratefully. We watched the storm quietly for a while without speaking. I tried to keep my cool, but I still shivered with barely controlled fear every time the lightning flashed.
“Do you think you’ll ever get better?” she asked abruptly in a curious voice.
“There's always a dim hope but I have my doubts,” I replied sadly. “It’s been six weeks since the injury and there isn’t any sign of improvement. If I ever get better, I fear it will take years.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Thanks, but don’t spend any effort worrying about me,” I replied as I closed my eyes and laid my head down on the cold ground. “I’ll be out of your way by morning.”
Scootaloo didn’t respond, instead just snuggling closer to me looking for more warmth. In spite of the thunder and lightning, I eventually drifted off to sleep.
I walked cautiously out onto the balcony where he was sitting. The sun was shining on Canterlot and the view from here was incredible. It was unfortunately marred by the reason I was out here. I waited silently until he acknowledged my presence.
“What is it you want to waste my time with today, whelp?”
“Sir, could I take flying lessons?”
“Why would you need to fly brat? Want to feel like you’re better than those of us stuck on the ground?”
“N-n-no-no sir. I just want to learn so I can be more useful.”
“Fine,” he snapped, suddenly picking me up with his telekinesis. “Let me help you with that.”
Suddenly I was tumbling over the edge of the balcony and into empty air.
“You wanted a lesson!” he shouted after me. “Learn fast!”
I spread my wings and tried to control my descent, but I was out of control as my wing clipped the edge of the ruined castle tower. I hit the bottom of the canyon and felt my leg snap on impact. My helmet tore off my head and flew off. A shadow fell over me while I laid in agony on the cold unyielding ground. I looked up to see a demonic black Alicorn standing over me with an expression of contempt on her face.
“Time to suffer sun lover,” said Nightmare Moon as she unleashed a bolt of black lightning into my broken wings.
My eyes flew opened as panic nearly overtook me. It took all my training to stay still rather than bolting off. I could feel the warmth from Scootaloo still sleeping beside me. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. The rain had stopped and the sun was just coming up. I looked down at the tough little filly nestled up against me. She seemed comfortable and I decided not to disturb her. My stomach was grumbling but there was no point in worrying about the growing hunger I couldn't afford to satisfy.
About fifteen minutes later I felt her stirring next to me. Her head lifted up and she yawned.
“OH!” she gasped when she noticed me. “Oh, oh right. Hi, Jade.”
“Morning,” I replied. “Thank you for letting me rest in your shelter. Now that you’re up, I’ll get out of your mane as promised. Take care Scootaloo.”
I groaned from the aches in my legs as I got up to my hooves. I walked out into the alleyway and stretched, noting how much flexibility my body had lost. I was disconcerted by how cold I felt in the damp morning air but I hoped getting out in the sun would help. I had never felt cold from being wet in my life.
“Ummmm, Jade . . .”
I looked over at Scootaloo who was trying to look tough while her cheeks reddened. She was trying to say something.
“Well, ummm, if you don’t have anywhere to go, I think it would be ok if you slept here again.”
“That would be very generous of you Scootaloo,” I replied. “You sure I won’t get in your way?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I think I can handle your company.”
I smiled at her. “Glad to hear I didn’t offend you. I’ll keep that in mind but I don’t know if I’ll make it back today.”
“Why not?”
I wrestled for a moment with what to tell her but final I just settled on a half-truth. “I have to go recover some things I lost and I’m not sure how long it will take me to get there and back.”
“Oh, ok! See you around then.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. Goodbye Scootaloo,” I replied before walking up the alleyway.
There was no point in telling her I had to go find a way back to the Castle of the Two Sisters and I probably wouldn’t survive the trip. I was trapped between two storms with no way out. Without my magic or wings, there was no job out there I could do that somepony else couldn't do better which left me with only the lowest paying unskilled jobs. Even if I could get a job with the weather service, it would take most of my life to pay off the debt to the guard. Blue's generosity was not an option I wanted to turn to. He had already done so much for me and now I had to stand on my own four hooves.
Recovering my armor and the helmet was the only other option since their return would erase most of the money I owed. Clearing my name wasn't even an option as far as I was concerned. Nopony would speak for me with that many statements against me. So in my mind, it came down to three terrible choices: Die of hunger under the crushing weight of an immense debt, go retrieve my armor to get rid of the bulk of my debt to live my life in mere poverty or die in the Everfree Forest like I probably should have after the Summer Sun Celebration.
I limped out into the street with the hood of Zecora’s cloak up. Ponyville was just starting to wake up from the overnight storm and some ponies were beginning the last bit of cleanup. There were leaves and branches scattered around but no signs of major damage. I wove through town, trying not to attract attention while I tried to remember the route I took to the Everfree Forest. The events of that night were foggy from the time I spent in a coma and from my already exhausted state that night.
Soon I was across the bridge beside the town hall and trying to ignore the overly fast beating of my heart. I hadn't even walked a mile and I was already feeling liked I'd travel ten. I knelt down and took a long drink from the river by the bridge to try to make my stomach stop growling. Water wouldn't hold off my hunger for much time but it helped. Then I selected a random road that pointed vaguely in the direction of the forest. There was a weariness in each step I had never felt before and it occurred to me I had been bedridden for over a month now.
The road wound through the fields and orchards of Ponyville but I didn't pay much attention to the scenery. My limp was becoming more pronounced as the pain slowly grew in every joint of my body. I had been warned that I would need pain medication for quite some time. The prescriptions and referral papers were still tucked into a pocket inside the cloak along with the letters that were the anchor around my neck. At this point, they’d be more useful for starting a campfire since ten bits for pain medication was ten bits I didn't have. Each step along the road was becoming a torture as my muscles screamed for relief. I had to keep going since I was just going to get weaker.
When I came around the next bend in the road, my attention was captured by the fairytale scene right in front of me. For a moment I forgot my pain and just admired the beautiful scene I had stumbled on. There was a beautiful little cottage nearby with a grass covered roof nestled in near the edge of the Everfree Forest. There were birdhouses and burrows absolutely everywhere around the house. Dozens of birds, rabbits, and other animals were wandering around. In the middle of it all, cleaning up loose branches from the storm was the yellow Pegasus mare with pink hair that had been with the group at the castle.
I stopped at the pathway that crossed the stream to what I assumed was her home and sat for a moment to try and regain my breath while watching the peaceful scene. It looked like she had an equally large number of animals in the back of her home. There were hawks and eagles in the trees but they were ignoring the easy prey on the ground. The whole place felt so peaceful that, for a moment I nearly forgot my pain and exhaustion. I just watched the animals flitting to and fro as if there was nothing that could ever harm them.
Sadly, a shriek of terror pulled me out of my contemplation and broke the spell. The animals and birds scattered in every direction. My exhaustion slammed back when I realized the mare was watching me with wide, terrified eyes. I lifted one hoof and pulled back the hood of my cloak so she could see I was just a normal pony before waving at her. She didn’t move a muscle and just continued to stare at me with undisguised fear. I pulled the hood back over my head, stood up and started slowly limping away to leave her in peace.
I was almost to the forest when a soft gentle voice piped up behind me. “Ummm, excuse me?”
I turned around and was startled to find the terrified yellow mare had flown up behind me without making a sound. The terror I had initially seen in her face had subsided to nervous curiosity. She seemed to shrink in on herself when I looked at her. I pulled the hood back down so she could see my face while I spoke.
“Hello,” I replied in what I hoped was a gentle voice. “What can I do for you?”
She seemed to relax a bit when I replied. She seemed like she was trying to work up some courage. “Ummm, are you the stallion who was at Zecora’s cottage? That is if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Yes, that was me,” I replied.
“Ok . . . Did you know this road goes into the Everfree Forest? I mean it’s ok if you want to go back in there but after everything that . . . I’m sorry”
I sighed and sat down on my haunches to rest for a moment. Standing was becoming a difficult chore and I was feeling overheated. “Thank you for confirming I’m going the right way, Miss . . .”
“Fluttershy,” she squeaked almost inaudibly. Then she spoke with a bit more strength. “Why are you going back? You don’t look well. Not that you look bad, it’s just, you’re limping and pale and didn’t you just get out of the hospital?”
I fought off a wave of dizziness. “I did. I wouldn’t be going back in that forest if I had any choice, Miss Fluttershy.”
“There’s always a choice isn’t there?” she whispered.
Even though she still looked frightened, the worry in her eyes was almost overwhelming. I looked at the ground. “My only other choice is worse. Does this trail lead to the castle?”
“Oh no, but this will take you to Zecora's,” she replied.
“I guess that will have to do,” I said in a weary voice. Why was I so tired already?
“Please, are you sure you want to go into the forest alone?”
you useless feather-brain.
“I have to go,” I retorted. “I'm not useless.”
“Useless?” she gasped. “Oh no, that can’t be right. Why would you say such a horrible thing about yourself? Everypony can be helpful in ways you would never expect.”
I looked over at her surprised. “Didn't you . . . You mean Twilight hasn’t told you?”
“No, all she told us is that you woke up. We were going to stop in but then we had to go ask that dragon to leave,” Fluttershy said while shivering at the memory. “Should she have told us something?”
“No, I suppose not. Goodbye Fluttershy.”
I weakly lifted myself into a standing position and turned to begin walking towards the forest again. I was starting to feel light headed and it was getting hard to put one hoof in front of the other. I made it about ten steps before I stumbled. I instinctively tried to use my wings to catch myself but they were still bound to my side and unresponsive. I feel down face first onto the dirt road and laid there unmoving on the ground for a moment.
“Oh my,” came Fluttershy’s quiet voice.
I groaned from the pain of the impact before struggling back up to my hooves yet again. I turned and began to trudge down the road again. My hooves were dragging in the dirt.
“Please, you can’t go in there in this state.”
Weakling.
I swayed but I kept pushing onwards step by step. I wanted to snap, to lose my temper but this mare had never done anything to me. Had she? I couldn't remember and her kind tone of voice was confusing me. It didn't fit with the nasty things that I was hearing.
“I told you, I have no choice,” I responded weakly. “I have no time. I'm not weak. I'm not useless. I won't let him win.”
I continued trudging down the road but she flew around in front of me and stared at me with utter confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense,” she pleaded. “What could be so important in the Everfree Forest? Why would you do this to yourself?”
Coward.
I swayed back and forth like a drunk while I reached under my cloak and pulled out the military discharge, the fines, my prescriptions and the medical referral. I hoofed the entire works over to her, barely managing to keep myself up on three legs. She took them and looked down at the papers I pushed into her hooves and back at me with confusion.
“This will answer your questions,” I replied in a small voice as she looked at them and back at me “You might as well keep them. This coward will pick them up if I make it back out.”
I started to walk around her and aimed myself at the Everfree Forest trail again. The trail was moving about and shimmering like a mirage. I paused and blinked a few times to try and make the world stop spinning around.
“IF!?” she gasped in horror.
Suddenly Fluttershy was right in front of me, her nose only inches from mine. Those frightened teal eyes had turned hard as ice. The expression on her face was incredibly intimidating as she glared into my eyes.
“You are NOT going into that forest alone in your condition mister! Do you understand me!?”
You worthless pegasus.
I flopped down on my haunches again and nodded dumbly. It was worse than the muscle locks I suffered early in basic training. I couldn't even twitch as I began to sway back and forth.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you,” she said apologetically. “Please get up.”
You're nothing but a failure.
It was his voice but he was dead. He couldn't be here. I honestly tried to get myself back up but my legs didn't seem to want to cooperate. My front hooves slipped from under me and I flopped down on my side. My head felt awfully heavy as well but I managed to hold it up. I began shuffling forward on my side, trying to stand back up, crawl or anything.
“No, I have to get up,” I gasped, beginning to panic as I scrambled along the path with my useless hind legs dragging. “I can't fail. I'm not worthless. Don't say I'm a failure. Don't hurt me.”
“Nopony is going to hurt you," she whispered gently. "Whatever is in the forest can't be worth your life."
"What life?" I muttered as I turned my head to try and look at her.
My heart stopped when I saw that Fluttershy wasn't alone anymore. The blood drained from my face at the sight of a familiar white unicorn stallion standing beside Fluttershy. He was glaring at me with familiar loathing. His eyes were dead, bereft of any care or affection as he stalked towards me. I began trying to scramble faster to get away from him, squirming along to try and get away from my nightmare.
You don't matter. All you are is a blight on my family.
I cringed as he raised his hoof. “Don't, don't hurt me. Please don't. I didn't mean to, I'll be quiet, Sir.”
I used to be able to march for hours and now I was so weak I couldn't even muster the energy to get back up to my hooves. I continued trying to shuffle along the road towards the forest when I felt a cold breeze on my left side. I looked discovered my attempts at crawling had pulled my cloak partway off. The bandages securing my wings had torn and they were flopped down into the dirt. Still bereft of most of the feathers, it was a horror to look at with no fur and no life.
All I heard from Fluttershy was a horrified gasp.
My humiliation was complete now and I knew he would be gloating. I tried to roll away to the side of the road or maybe into that creek but my limbs weren't obeying. Nothing was working anymore. The white stallion was standing over me now and he seemed to be enjoying every moment.
Weakling. I always knew you were trash.
“H-H-How could the hospital let you go in this state,” she asked in a frightened voice.
“There was nothing more they can do,” I croaked as I gave up trying to move. “There's nothing left. I can't fail, I can't . . . I can't do this . . . I can't . . .”
The last thing I saw was Fluttershy's concern contrasting with the vicious hate on his face. White fur blurred in front of my eyes and it felt like a hoof hit me. That was about when someone turned the lights off and I knew no more.
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This is an awesome story!
It boggles the mind as to why this does not have more likes
Keep up the good work, and thank you!
7927600 - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! It's always nice to have more people liking the story but it's not my focus. As long as a few people are interested in what I'm creating, I'm good to keep going.
I think something is missing from last sentence in this paragraph?
He sure felt the ground good. Hehe.
Another fantastic chapter! And you have me incredible insight on how to revise one of my stories!
7928705 Thank you! I tweak that whole paragraph a bit. Glad you enjoyed it and found some inspiration.
7932635
That edit makes a lot more sense to me. I hope that the way I'm pointing out this stuff comes off as me being amused, and not some other way that could be contrived as annoying.
7935056 - No issues here, I appreciate you pointing those errors out! Sometimes my mind just doesn't catch errors like that even after reviewing the chapter half a dozen times. Nothing wrong with being amused by mistakes like that one.